Melting
by theticktalks
Summary: Zero and Shinobu enjoy a nice Valentine's Day together... pure fluff (written for tumblr user beybladenerd)


**hello! this is very short and was quickly written, but I needed to get it done on Valentine's Day. this was written for the super cool tumblr user beybladenerd, hope you enjoy!**

Shinobu was heading towards the beystadium when all of a sudden he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Shinobu! Hey, wait up!" Zero shouted, trotting up to the taller boy. When he reached him, he paused to catch his breath.

"Hi Zero," Shinobu smiled warmly. He dug his hands further into his coat as the icy wind began to pick up around them. It was the middle of winter, and a storm was going to hit them soon.

Straightening up slightly, Zero peered his wide, blue, eyes at Shinobu from under his fuzzy hat. "Shinobu, you know what today is, right?" He asked, while flashing a dazzling smile.

Frowning slightly, Shinobu tilted his head as he thought. He searched his memory for any indication of what the day was, but he couldn't think of anything. "Um, no I guess I don't. What's today?"

"It's Valentine's Day!" Zero suddenly cheered.

"Ohh," Shinobu said. The holiday had never really meant much to him, so it had completely slipped his mind. But something about Zero's enthusiasm, somehow even more extreme than it usually was, piqued Shinobu's interest. "Do you have plans for today then?" he asked. Shinobu didn't think that Zero had a girlfriend, but he was a nice, handsome, boy, so it wouldn't be unlikely that he'd landed himself a date for the love-based holiday.

"Well," Zero said, eyes suddenly sliding from Shinobu's face to the frozen ground. "I was hoping that maybe you'd like to hang out with me today!" Zero shuffled his feet slightly, seeming to be uncharacteristically nervous.

Shinobu was shocked. Was Zero... asking him out on date?! Blushing furiously, Shinobu stuttered, "Hahaha Zero. W-we always h-hang out! What a-are you talk-king about?" He nervously rubbed his neck and forced on a broad smile. In all honesty, Shinobu had had a crush on Zero for a long time, so he didn't want to get his hopes up, just to have them crumble due to a misunderstanding. Zero was a nice guy, he was probably just trying to be a good friend and spend the holiday with Shinobu, right?

Turning his face to Shinobu again, Zero said, "Well yeah, we battle all the time. I thought that maybe we could like, get some lunch and hang out at the mall or something... If you don't want to, that's okay! I just figured it would be a good way to spend Valentine's Day... you know, as friends," he added the last bit in a rush.

Shinobu sighed internally. _As friends_. Of course, he shouldn't have even considered the possibility that it would be a date. But still, it did sound like a nice idea, to be able to spend a day with his best friend... "Yeah, that sounds fun," Shinobu answered quietly.

Zero's smile was even more blinding than usual as he nodded and led the way to the mall, which was located near the edge of the city.

Lunch went well, aside from the strange glances they got from some of the other diners, who probably thought the two teenage boys were on an actual date (not that Shinobu could blame them).

Once they'd left the restaurant (after Zero insisted that he pay for the both of them), they decided to walk around the crowded mall. Couples kissing or holding hands were everywhere, making Shinobu distinctly aware of the shorter boy walking right next to him.

"Hey, let's go into that shop!" Zero suddenly said, pointing at a sweets shop. He grabbed Shinobu's gloved hand, and dragged him through the busy mall to the small store's entrance. They squeezed their way in and began to poke around at all of the candies and chocolates offered.

Shinobu smiled at Zero's childishness. The way his blue eyes shone at all of the various candies from under the rim of his hat was absolutely adorable. But Shinobu was also blushing at the fact that the other's small hand was still clutched around his. Shinobu figured it was just so they didn't get split up in the congested area, but it still felt nice to have the other's hand in his. They perused the selections of sweets for a bit longer before Shinobu said, "So, do you want anything? My treat."

Blue eyes gazed into Shinobu's green ones for a moment before Zero shook his head. "No, I can buy-"

But Shinobu cut him off by putting up his hand. "No, you paid for lunch; the least I can do is buy you some candy."

Zero didn't look too pleased, but he said, "Fine, I'll let you pay this time." He winked at Shinobu, before returning to the shelves full of sugary treats. He eventually settled on filling a bag with various gummy candies (which meant he, unfortunately, had to finally let go of Shinobu's hand).

Shinobu paid for the candy, and then the two scoured out an empty bench to sit on. Once they'd finally found somewhere, they opened up the sweets and started to share them.

"This has been a really fun day!" Zero said in a singsong voice, swinging his legs back and forth as he popped a gummy worm into his mouth. He hummed quietly to himself as he chewed his candy.

"Yeah, this was nice," Shinobu agreed, smiling into the scarf that was draped around his neck. As an after thought he added, "Happy Valentine's Day, Zero."

It was meant to just be a quick remark, but it made Zero suddenly stop swinging his legs and look at Shinobu seriously. The content grin slid off his face as a slight frown replaced it."Shinobu," he said in a quiet voice.

Furrowing his brows, Shinobu glanced at the other boy. "Yeah?" he asked cautiously.

"I wasn't honest with you earlier," he said. He was slightly hunched forward, his bangs falling over his eyes. The frown marring his usually bright and excited face continued to settle into his features, making Zero nearly unrecognizable.

"What are you talking about?" Shinobu asked, worry bubbling in his chest. His throat started to feel tight. He was so concerned and scared about what was happening.

"I asked you to hang out with me as friends but..." Zero sniffled, sounding as if he was on the verge of crying.

Shinobu felt his heart stop for a moment. Zero never cries. Ever. "Hey," he called softly, placing his hand gently onto Zero's knee in a comforting manner.

"...I can't think of you as just my friend anymore, Shinobu. I like you. I really, _really_, like you, and I don't think it was fair for me to lead you on," Zero whispered.

It took a minute to process, but when the words finally clicked in Shinobu's mind, a huge grin spread across his face. He placed two long fingers under Zero's chin, and tilted his head up so that he could look at him properly. "I like you too, Zero. I have for a while now..." Shinobu said quietly. He smiled shyly at the other teen, a pink dusting coloring his nose.

Zero's eyes widened. "You mean...?"

Shinobu nodded. "Yeah," he answered with a hint of a giggle to his voice.

Eyes crinkling as he smiled, Zero threw his arms around Shinobu's scarfed neck. "Happy Valentine's Day," he whispered into Shinobu's hair. "Thank you," he added almost inaudibly.

Shinobu nodded against Zero. Then he turned his face slightly and pressed a warm kiss to Zero's cheek.

Zero blushed dark red as he pulled back to look at Shinobu. After a moment he suddenly pecked a kiss onto the tip of Shinobu's nose. "I'm so happy," Zero said. A couple tears rolled down his cheeks, which he rubbed away quickly with his sleeve.

"Me too, you big dork," Shinobu said, before finally leaning in for a proper kiss. It was still brief, but the feel of the other boy's lips on his sent sparks running down Shinobu's spine. When they separated, both gasping due to the adrenaline coursing through them, Shinobu couldn't contain the grin that plagued his face. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said again, before going in for a second kiss.

And as the two boys melted into each other inside, snow began to silently fall outside.

**sorry if it was kinda short, but thank you for reading it anyways. happy valentine's day everyone! any and all criticism is welcome and appreciated, thanks**


End file.
